A Rose by any other name...

Do Something Funny For Money!

Eager to live up to the motto of this year's Comic Relief/Red Nose Day event and of course help my school raise lots of money for a good cause, I decided to do a few funny things in aid of charity.

I have long wanted to learn and perform in a version of 'Thriller' and I managed to persuade several colleagues and students to join me. It took me a couple of hours to teach myself the choreography and then a few rehearsals to teach to others. We were the final act at the charity concert and I'm proud to say that we brought the house down. (I also sang Peggy Lee's 'Fever' with another teacher, sorry no pictures and definitely no video footage!)

Not content with the effort made on Thursday evening, I made the decision to go to work on Friday wearing pyjamas! I taught a full day's lessons wearing them, much to the amusement of colleagues and students alike. I have to say, that I felt incredibly comfortable and think that this may well be the way forward in dressing for work!

On an important note, I managed to raise some money for charity and help make a difference to a few people. I'm able to accept post-event sponsorship, so if you feel you are able to give anything send me an e-mail and I'll point you in the direction of my donation page.

Two already!

It only seems like yesterday that I was posting about the arrival of my niece and now look at her.

Hasn't she grown?

And now she has reached that milestone of a birthday, two, there is no stopping her!

Time on my hands...

meant time to tighten my hair. Whilst I had enjoyed playing in the snow yesterday, I was happy to stay in the warmth today tightening my hair. Actually, I had started this on Sunday with the back and I did a little yesterday after building the snowman, but overall I spent far less time on getting in done than on previous occasions. I guesstimate that it took me about 8 hours to complete, having taken up to twice that before. I think that I was helped by the fact that it is less than five weeks since I last did it; I have been going eight weeks or so between sorting my roots. (Note to self - regular sessions=less work!)

I love the way that my hair sits when it's been done.

Snow Day

Yesterday I crossed my fingers for snow, not enough to cause destruction, but enough to cause a day off work. I wasn't completely surprised to wake this morning and find a blanket of snow covering everything, it had been forecast over a week ago; but the forecasters don't always get it right, do they?

I have a policy of not driving in these conditions if I can help it and called upon the services of The HoF who lives close to me. I was hoping that he would take my suggestion to call work and say we couldn't get in, but he insisted on picking me up and driving in. To cut a long story short, we didn't make it very far; driving at two miles per hour in thick snow seemed to help him make sense of the situation. I was back home and playing in the snow in no time. At about the same time I discovered that my school had been shut and I needn't have bothered trying to get there in the first place!

Me and my Sons had a snowball fight and built a snowman, although I was only able to stay outside for periods of ten minutes before needing to defrost myself inside. Our efforts were rewarded when we found out that our respective schools will be closed tomorrow too. Just what are we going to do!

Sunday Styling VI

Whilst I loved the results I got with the braidout, the curls only lasted a few days. I wanted something that would last the course of the week and decided to canerow my hair after washing it. I put it into about ten french plaits, with my part already in place for styling! When setting my hair I always worry that I won't like the results and will be stuck for at least a day with a look I'm unhappy with. On this occassion however, I needn't have worried; I loved the curls I got! My hair was full of body and bounce and I lost count of the compliments I received. I am certain that this is a styling option I will return to.

Sunday Styling V

It's been a looong time since my last Sunday Styling post and I can't promise to make it a weekly feature; but I was so inspired by Meikmeika's New Year style that I decided to give the old braidout another try. Last night I sectioned off my hair, plaiting about ten locks and securing at the end with an elastic band. I do prefer to use cotton hair bands, but I seem to have lost most of them and I'm down to a collection of four! This morning I took the plaits out and was pleased with the results; my hair was really full of body. The crinkle is subtle, probably due to the fact that I plaited my hair when it was dry, but you'll remember that I don't like too much curl!

Why are the ends of your hair THAT colour?

I don't know , why are the ends my hair THIS colour!
Well actually I do know and I was able to satisfy my sister's curiosity when she asked me this question.
The oddly coloured ends are the remnants of a dye I had put on my hair four years ago (said dye also in part led to my SL installation, but that is another story). My hair was red, a colour I favoured for a long time and I really liked it this way. However, of late I and evidently other people, have noticed that my ends are looking a strange rust like shade. This is one of the reasons I have been considering adding some new colour to my hair. Now, in my previous life of experimental hairstyles and shades, I used Crazy Colour to frequently change my look. I often used Fire Red but have been known to use Capri Blue! It's an easy to use, although slightly messy product that you wash it in and wash it out and that doesn't contain peroxide.
I am now seriously considering buying a bottle of Fire and adding it to my hair, it would probably give an aubergine/plum hue to my locks. I know that lots of have added colour to your locks and would love to hear your two pence worth on the subject. To dye or not to dye, that is my question!

If you can keep your head...

JB loves reading, no I really mean it, he LOVES to read. In fact I would go as far as to say it is a slight addiction of his; he will read absolutely anything.
I taught him to read at an early age, using magnetic letters on the fridge and from then our literary monster was born! We have been told at Parents Evenings (and teachers have been very apologetic for telling us) that he reads too much! I think the problem was that he read at the wrong times; he continues to do this and it adds at least ten minutes onto his getting ready time in the morning!
It's a real job keeping up with his passion and making sure that new books are available, although he will re-read favourites again and again. This love of reading is not uncommon in my family and we are able to maximise on this by swapping books with relatives.

As you can see from the picture, not even the chaos of moving house can keep him away from a book!

My List of 99

I saw this post on Brunsli's blog and decided to give the list a go. On account of my being an English girl and never having visited the States there are few things that I am unable to tick off...
(those I have achieved appear in bold)


1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland - Tokyo and Paris, do they count?
8. Climbed a mountain - fall down them whenever I'm skiing!
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped - contemplated it in my youth, but I now recognise the dangers associated!
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - although I have been a storm at sea, remember?
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - an experience I don't wouldn't wish upon anyone
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked - No and not likely to happen
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - don't tell anyone!
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run - does it count if it was on the Wii?
32. Been on a cruise - a mini one
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language - everyone knows I'm trying!
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke - as recently as last week
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater - I have always wanted to do this
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - the same one, twice!
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - I dont envisage this ever, ever, ever happening!
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit - and won
98. Owned a mobile phone
99. Been stung by a bee - several times!

So I haven't quite managed to achieve half of the list, I need to get to work on putting that right!

Happy New Year to each and every one of you!

Xxx

I should have been...

in this 8th century castle for my birthday today, enjoying a lavish meal and good wine with Brunsli and Breadfruit. However, due to a minor(replace with major) mishap with my passport and the fact that being part of the EU doesn't really count for much when it comes to travelling to Spain, I had to cancel and stay in England. To say that I was disappointed would be a major understatement. Despite the fact that they weren't expecting me to be in the country, my family and friends rallied round to celebrate with me (and to cheer me up) throughout the weekend and today. On Saturday I went to Shish for a meal with friends; I have to admit to having mixed feelings about the food, I enjoyed my starter but wasn't enamoured with the main course. It has a great atmosphere and was packed on all floors, but I think it is a place to visit for drinks and snacks. We had post dinner drinks here and I loved it; the decor is great, it's a bit like popping into someone's house for a glass of wine!
On Sunday I enjoyed a mulled wine and mince pie evening at my Dad's, this was preceeded by watching the nativity story at the local church.
Today I was treated to breakfast in bed, a lavish lunch and then a wonderful Thai meal in the evening along with a large number of my family.
I had a fantastic birthday and feel lucky to have such wonderful people in my life; you all know who you are and I love you all.

Two Years!

This isn't exactly an anniversary picture as it was taken about six weeks ago; however it's the most up-to-date one I can lay my hands on.
As you can see, I am still very much a freestyle girl, although I am constantly plagued by my hair falling into my face! Lately I have been thinking about adding a little colour to my hair, only a rinse, but something to spice things up. As always, I'll keep you posted!

Posh Party Portrait

I attended the Christmas party of a very exclusive London hospital yesterday, it was held in a plush hotel in Park Lane. This company spend an awful lot of money on their staff functions and their 'more than £180 per head budget' seriously overshadows the fund I have to organise my work celebrations! One of the little extras they had on the evening was a caricature artist and of course I jumped at the chance to have mine done. I am not convinced by it's accuracy (but then caricatures aren't meant to be), but I do love it!

Twitterbug

Yes, I have caught it and can now be found twittering my every move (well not every single one) for those who are interested. It's a great way to get up-to-the-minute (almost) updates of those you know and those you don't!

If you want to keep up with me, check this out.

What are you doing now?

Come Dine With Me

I am fast becoming addicted to this programme! So much so that I have even considered taking part; I went as far as to see if they were looking for contestants in my area, (perhaps luckily) they weren't. So how does it work? Over the course of a week, five strangers, who consider themselves to be good cooks, host dinner parties for each other. At the end of each evening the other four give their host marks out of ten. Following the final dinner party the contestant with the most points wins £1000. I have thought about what my menu would be if I were on the show and I have a few ideas. But I wonder, if you were hosting a dinner party for people you didn't know, what would be on your menu?

BTW, you can catch up on past episodes here and if you just want recipes, they are here.

Congratulations America!

Congratulations America!

Congratulations America!

Congratulations America!

Congratulations America!

Parks: What have you done to your hair? It looks really flat!

Me: Erm, tightened it!




Parks is usually really good at noticing that my hair has been done; however, I have noticed that the bigger it gets the less noticeable the parts are. I guess flat hair has replaced spacey hair!

I am still here!

Life has been very busy and for one reason or another I haven't got round to posting all of the blog posts I have written. I will be posting them below (in date order!) until I catch up with myself...

Imagine our surprise when...

...picked up the keys to our new house, entered it and found this


and this





and this





and this!

Yes, my hair will grow!

The first picture was taken in July 2007 after I cut my hair. The others were taken a few days ago when I realised I was still amazed by the question I was asked.

Will your hair grow?

Yes!

Somebody actually asked me this question!

Back to the slopes

You'll remember that my first time skiing was last year; you'll also remember that I had a really good time (see here, here, here and here) and that I invested in a few lessons while I was there. But, for some reason, this year, I didn't enjoy the skiing as much as I had anticipated. It could have been due to the absolutely freezing conditions; yes I know it's meant to be cold, but we were buying additional items of thermal ski wear on a daily basis (my purchases included this very handy ear-muff/head band thing). It could have been due to me spending a lot of time worrying about what was going on back in England with the new house purchase.

However, I suspect it was largely due to the fact that my skiing just wasn't up to scratch. I spent such a lot of time on my bottom or taking my skis off and walking down the mountain! And of course there was the day I thought my number was up...

How old is too old to wear a bib?

This delightful accessory is provided when having the speciality fish broth at a lovely little restaurant in Briancon. The dish is only served on Fridays and is popular with both locals and tourists; I used my best French to book our table as soon as we arrived in town. The substantial broth contains a variety of seafood and fish and lots of potatoes, it's served with rustic bread, cloves of garlic, garlic mayonnaise and Gruyere cheese. Whilst it does have the potential to be a bit of a passion killer, it is absolutely delicious and perfect comfort food to eat after a day in the snow.

BTW, look at how burnt my cheeks are!

Je peu parle Francais!

Not entirely in keeping with the sentiment of my last 'tagged' post, I managed to spend a little time brushing up on my French. Although I had every intention of working on my language skills on a daily basis for six weeks in preparation for being in France, living life got in the way and I found myself having to do final cramming sessions two days before heading to the airport.
I am pleased to report that whilst in Briancon, I did a very good job!
Although I was able to converse on a basic level with some confidence, I came across lots of people who wanted to practise their English; so I often found myself in conversations that took place in two languages!
I use the Instant French system, which works towards the student learning a bank of words that can be used in everyday situations. I have to admit to paying very little attention to the grammar, which means that I use my word bank to construct sentences as if I were speaking in English. Of course this is not the right way and certainly not the way I was taught at school; but I seem to make sense to the people I'm talking to and that's all that matters, right?
In the future I would like to enrol myself on a course, when I can find a window of time in my very busy life!

How did this feature in my Skiing holiday?

Wedding Hair

My friend JayKay got married today. Beautiful bride, dashing groom, emotional ceremony (traditional Jewish ceremony - a first for me) and a wonderful reception. But, no pictures to share, as Simply Silly Mel left her camera at home! Hopefully Parks, who was my 'date' for the day will let me have some of the photos she took and I will be able to share them at a later date.
Many congratulations to JayKay and her lovely Beau!


I did remember to take a photo of my updo when I got home though. I had actually set my hair on SoftSpikes the night before, with the intention of having curly hair. However my hair was still wet in the morning and as a result the curls were, well, not curls and I had to come with a plan b. In the end it was very simple to create; a few flat twists at the front, secured with small rubber bands and the rest of my hair gathered up with a hairtie. I am not a fan of the little rubber bands; I find them fiddly to remove and am pretty sure that I take some of my hair out with them - any suggestions for alternatives would be greatly received.
If you have the patience and time (both of which I didn't have enough of on the day) you could flat twist all of your hair; I'm sure this would create a stunning effect.

On the move

After all of the house hunting, we finally decided on a house that suited us. Our offer was accepted and everything is in the hands of the solicitors. The house will need some work doing to it and we won't move in until June; but it has the potential to be a great family home. As excited as I am, I have been brought down to earth by the amount of work that we need to do before moving. This includes packing up all of our belongings and putting the bulk of them into storage; I guess the plus side to this is being able to throw away all of the stuff that we really don't need. I have to admit to being 'a bit of a hoarder' and I have no doubt that my family will be grateful for the clearout that this move will force me to do.

I won't be giving up my day job

My Mum has been wanting a change for her hair for quite some time now...




So two days ago, I began plaiting her hair; my Mum's hair is very soft and fine and I found that no sooner had I finished, they would unravel. To make them more secure I decided to put a knot in the ends and used my nappylocs tool at the root; I think that in all it took me about ten hours to complete. Mum was really pleased with the results, as was I.
Now I have another set of locks to try and maintain!

Hot Tickets

Having been given twenty five free tickets for the production of Othello, starring Ewan McGregor, I was tempted to sell one or two when I heard how sought after they were. Of course, it was just a momentary thought and we all enjoyed the performance and the post show talk with Ewan (this bit particularly engaged the students and staff!). I was surprised to read this article as I felt that McGregor gave an energised and focused portrayal of Iago; on the whole I felt the production was well cast, particularly the leads. I am by no means a fan of Shakespearean plays (usually falling asleep), but I managed to last the distance of this show. I have seen some terrible shows in my time and have walked out of several; this one was by no means on a par with them.
IMHO, if you can get a ticket, it's worth a visit.

Tagged (Parts Three and Four)

This is not the first time I have been tagged, in fact it is the third and fourth(see here and here)! I am by no means complaining :-)

Here are the rules:
1. link to the person that tagged you, in my case, Sisterlocks Convert and Still Waters.
2. post the rules on your blog.
3. share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I guess as I've been tagged twice I should share twelve things, but I'm not sure that I can think of that many that you don't already know!

• My earliest childhood memories are of being at Nursery at the age of two. I can remember not being allowed in the paddling pool because I had a cold and having to watch all of the other children having fun in the water :-(
• I have a passionate dislike for Okra.
• I am really struggling to find facts to share! (does this count?)
• I like Root Beer, but it's hard to find over here. MacDonald's used to sell it, but haven't done so for years. I guess the closest thing in taste is Dr Pepper, but for me it's not close enough.
• I enjoy watching crime investigation series'; from Columbo to CSI, they all hold my attention.
  
• I once ruined a school production when I burst into a fit of laughter that lasted several minutes. I was playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and my teacher wasn't very happy with my lack of professionalism!
• I have always felt it useful to be able to speak another language. At the moment, I am trying to brush up on my French skills for a forthcoming holiday; I also have 'teach yourself' kits for Spanish and Italian which I intend to work my way through.

I honestly can't think of anything else to share that I haven't already or that I am saving for future posts. So that, as they say, is all folks.
I am posting this so late in the day, that I am sure that there isn't any left to tag.
However if you haven't been tagged yet, consider yourself tagged by me and I'll look forward to reading your post!